River Great Ouse (Old West River - Large River)
The maximum dimensions for a boat to be able to travel on the waterway are 75 feet long and 12 feet and 6 inches wide. The maximum headroom is not known. The maximum draught is not known.
It has junctions with the River Great Ouse (Great Ouse Relief Channel) at Old West River - Great Ouse Relief Channel Junction; with the River Great Ouse (River Lark) at Old West River - River Lark Junction; with the River Great Ouse (Little Ouse or Brandon Creek) at Brandon Creek Junction and with the River Great Ouse (River Wissey) at River Great Ouse - River Wissey Junction.
The waterway passes through City of Ely
Relevant publications — Waterway Maps:
- Waterway Routes 01M - England and Wales Map
- Waterway Routes 68M - River Great Ouse and Tributaries Map (Downloadable)
Relevant publications — Waterway Guides:
| Pope's Corner Junction of River Cam with Old West River |
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| Little Thetford EA Moorings | 5 furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Great Ouse - Soham Lode Junction Junction of the River Great Ouse and Soham Lode |
1 mile and 2½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Great Ouse - Braham Dock Junction Junction of the River Great Ouse and Braham Dock (drain) |
1 mile and 7½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Braham Farm Campsite Situated on the other side of the railway line. Cheap and Cheerful! |
2 miles | 0 locks | |
| Newmarket Bridge | 2 miles and 3¾ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Ely Southern Bypass Bridge | 2 miles and 6 furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Cawdle Fen GOBA Mooring | 2 miles and 7¾ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Ely High Bridge | 3 miles and 1¾ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Bridge Boatyard | 3 miles and 2½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Ely Railway Bridge Ely to Norwich railway bridge |
3 miles and 3¼ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Ely Visitor Moorings | 3 miles and 4 furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Cathedral Marina Entrance No 1 | 3 miles and 4½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Waterside Bridge | 3 miles and 5½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Cathedral Marina Entrance No 2 | 3 miles and 5¾ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Willow Walk Visitor Moorings | 3 miles and 6¼ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Willow Walk Winding Hole | 3 miles and 6½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Willow Walk Railway Bridge Ely to Norwich railway bridge |
3 miles and 6¾ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Kiln Lane Basin | 4 miles and 4¾ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Queen Adelaide Way Footbridge | 4 miles and 6 furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Cemex Bridge | 5 miles and ¼ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Queen Adelaide Visitor Moorings (EA) These moorings are currently closed (May 2024) |
5 miles and 2¼ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Queen Adelaide Way Railway Bridge | 5 miles and 2¾ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Prickwillow Road Bridge | 5 miles and 3½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Diamond 44 EA mooring | 7 miles and ½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Old West River - River Lark Junction Junction of River Lark with Old West River |
7 miles and 3¼ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Sandhill Bridge | 8 miles and 5½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Holmes River Junction Junction of the River Great Ouse and the Holmes River |
9 miles and 2½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Station Road Littleport EA Moorings | 9 miles and 2¾ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Littleport Bridge | 9 miles and 4¼ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Black Horse Farm EA Moorings | 12 miles and 2½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Ship Inn EA Moorings | 12 miles and 5½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| The Ship Inn (Brandon Creek) | 12 miles and 6 furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Brandon Creek Junction Junction of River Great Ouse with the Little Ouse or Brandon Creek |
12 miles and 6½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Southery Ferry and Wharf | 13 miles and 7¾ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Ten Mile Bank GOBA Moorings | 14 miles and 7¼ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Windmill EA Mooring | 16 miles and 5¾ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Hilgay Bridge | 16 miles and 6 furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Ouse Railway Bridge (Hilgay) | 18 miles and 1 furlong | 0 locks | |
| River Great Ouse - River Wissey Junction Junction of the River Great Ouse with the River Wissey |
18 miles and 4 furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Two River Brewery | 19 miles and 3¼ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Old West River - Great Ouse Relief Channel Junction Junction of the Old West River and the Great Ouse Relief Channel |
19 miles and 4½ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Denver West Bank EA Moorings | 19 miles and 5 furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Denver Sluice | 19 miles and 5¼ furlongs | 0 locks | |
| Denver Junction Junction of River Great Ouse and New Bedford River |
19 miles and 5¾ furlongs | 1 lock |
- Great Ouse Navigation | boating, moorings, navigation notices — associated with River Great Ouse
- Information regarding the Great Ouse navigation and tributaries.
- Information for boaters on the River Great Ouse - GOV.UK — associated with River Great Ouse
- River Great Ouse: bridge heights, locks, overhead power lines and facilities.
- Facebook Account — associated with River Great Ouse
- Anglian Waterways Manager Facebook Account
- Facebook Anglian Waterways Page — associated with River Great Ouse
- Facebook Page for Environment Agency Anglian Waterways
- Denver Complex and Tidal River Gt. Ouse Tidal Crossings Facebook Page — associated with Denver Sluice
- Tidal River Gt. Ouse Denver - Salters Lode Facebook Page
- Denver Cruising Club — associated with Southery Ferry and Wharf
- Web Site
- Bridge Boatyard - UK Boating Holidays - Cambridgeshire, the Fens and East Anglia — associated with Bridge Boatyard
- Bridge Boatyard (Ely) home page
- Cathedral Marina Ely - Jones Boatyard — associated with Cathedral Marina Entrance No 2
- Ely Cathedral Marina home page
- Cathedral Marina Ely - Jones Boatyard — associated with Cathedral Marina Entrance No 1
- Ely Cathedral Marina home page
Wikipedia has a page about River Great Ouse
The River Great Ouse () is a river in England, the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". From Syresham in Northamptonshire, the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the Wash and the North Sea near Kings Lynn. With a course of about 143 miles (230 km), mostly flowing north and east, it is the fifth longest river in the United Kingdom. The Great Ouse has been historically important for commercial navigation, and for draining the low-lying region through which it flows; its best-known tributary is the Cam, which runs through Cambridge. Its lower course passes through drained wetlands and fens and has been extensively modified, or channelised, to relieve flooding and provide a better route for barge traffic. The unmodified river would have changed course regularly after floods.
The name Ouse is from the Celtic or pre-Celtic *Udso-s, and probably means simply "water" or slow flowing river. Thus the name is a pleonasm. The lower reaches of the Great Ouse are also known as "Old West River" and "the Ely Ouse", but all the river is often referred to simply as the Ouse in informal usage (the word "Great" – which originally meant simply big or, in the case of a river, long – is used to distinguish this river from several others called the Ouse).